Kgpremed12 wrote:
Im just wondering how people feel at these ages and how their priorities and perspectives change as they get older?
Im 26 now, and I feel my body is starting to age. I try to exercise everyday to keep myself in shape. I need longer to recover from hard workouts, I need to stretch more, warm ups take longer, injuries take longer to heal, it sucks. when I was 21, I could just get up and go. I hope it doesnt get much worse.
You feel old at 26? LOL. You literally have NO idea. I set most of my lifetime PRs within a couple years of 26. I maintained near that level through my early 30s, gradually slowed through my mid 30s, then totally fell off the cliff as I moved past 35. Today, late 30s, I'm a full 4 minutes slower for 5k than my prime. Like someone else said, 7 minute pace today feels exactly like 5:30 pace did back in the day.
I've seen so many friends have to stop running alltogether due to permanent injury, that I promised myself as long as I could still run, I'd be thankful, no matter how slow. I consider every slow mile a blessing. I've actually outlasted most of the guys who used to beat me in my 20s; they're no longer running.